We’ve kissed the holiday season goodbye.  Whether you stayed home and are craving a getaway, or need a vacation from your vacation, the dark days of January present some bright family vacation ideas.  If your family skis, there are discounts that make this expensive sport more affordable.  New York State has some particularly attractive ski discounts, so this could be the year to give skiing a whirl. Virginia may not seem like a ski destination, but The Homestead in Hot Springs has a cut-rate family ski package. If an urban getaway better suits your family, Washington, D.C. has some steeply discounted rates and dozens of free activities.  Go farther north and spend a few budget-friendly days in Montreal for a soupçon of Gallic flair. If you’ve already had it up to here with the cold and snow, warm weather destinations in Florida and Royal Caribbean cruise itineraries are on sale.  If luck is on your side, you might just win a free trip to Disney for your family of four.

Get ready to make some tough decisions this weekend. Seven of our top January event picks take place on Saturday and Sunday, including big annual favorites like Beam Center's super-creative Inventgenuity Festival in Cobble Hill, Central Park's FREE snowy sports celebration Winter Jam and the cool kids' trivia competition The Big Family Quiz Thing.

A highly-anticipated kid-friendly museum exhibit also debuts this weekend: The Little Prince: A New York Story at the Morgan Museum & Library but you have plenty of time to explore it—all winter actually. And speaking of winter, this weekend will probably be a great time to hit one of NYC's best sledding hills.

Those are just a few of the great things going on this weekend. All of our picks are below. You can find additional options in our Event Calendar and our Winter Fun Guide. Before heading out on your adventures, be sure to download our FREE Mommy Poppins Kids on the Go app so you can find the best family destinations wherever you happen to be in NYC.

Forgive the rhetorical question, but can anyone make acrobatics more exciting than Cirque du Soleil? The Canadian circus phenomenon has umpteen touring productions in at least umpteen cities, and what keeps us all coming back for more goes beyond the gymnastics, the tumbling, the trapezes, the unicycles, the silks, the flying rings, the trampolines, and the tightropes. It even goes beyond those unexpected flourishes like the steampunk waterskiing flamenco rollerskating bullfights. What takes our breath away is the all-out drama of a celebration of the human body. Or, as my 10-year-old more succinctly put it midway through TOTEM at the Santa Monica Pier, "Talk about impossible!"

Boston may be over 5,000 miles from Sochi, but it’s not too far away to catch some of the Winter Olympic Games fever.

From the Opening Ceremonies on February 7 through two weeks of grueling competition, many of us will be eagerly cheering on Team USA as they go for the Gold. And we’ll be keeping an eye on the local athletes, too; New England is sending its fair share of athletes to the Olympics.

To help families get in the spirit of the games, we've rounded up some special events that local museums are hosting in honor of the Olympics as well as places you can go to (sort of) simulate your own athletic games. Do your kids dream of Olympic gold? We'd love to hear about it, so feel free to add a comment below, or post to our Facebook page.

Don’t think for a second that frigid temps and some snow mean you have to stay indoors all weekend. There are plenty of hands on activities for families in New Jersey: Build Historic Morristown with LEGOs at Morris Museum, discover the Science & Art of Color at Newark Museum or learn about Winter Waterfowl at the Basking Ridge Environmental Center. And if you don’t mind a little cold, strap on those snow boots and check out the Winter Festival at High Point State Park or the annual Wassailing of the Apple Trees at Terhune Orchards. And remember, you can find a full list of weekend activities in our Event Calendar.

The best things in life are free, right? Well, maybe. Raising kids is one of the best things in life, but it's certainly not free. Except on some days, like when several spectacular Los Angeles area museums waive their entrance fees. That's right, free admission. We've shouted from the rooftops about free museum days in LA and OC before. And now we're singing the praises of a special Museums Free-For-All happening Saturday, January 25. A free outing with the kids to explore a treasure-trove of art or science or craft or culture? One of the best things just got better.

We've got a little something for all ages this week, from online kindergarten applications to FREE art classes for high schoolers, to auditions for a kids' circus spectacle and a mom-themed storytelling show (yes, mothers, for once you can be in the spotlight). Plus: One of our favorite Brooklyn ice cream parlors announces a second location, the Brooklyn Children's Museum plans a goodbye party for its beloved python, Disney says Frozen is coming to Broadway, find out when tickets for the New York International Children's Film Festival and Off Broadway Week go on sale, and more.

The Suffolk County Farm, located in Yaphank, is a working farm that offers year-round fun and educational opportunities for the family. Even during the winter months, activity on the farm doesn’t stop, and there are plenty of opportunities to learn about life on it. A collection of weekly activities and special events are offered and designed for children of all ages. So if you’re looking for something fun to do to get the kids out of the house and break those winter doldrums, check out what’s going on at the farm.

And for more winter fun on Long Island, be sure to check out our Calendar.